Chapter 77
It was almost thirty minutes before Chelsea returned to the table and when she did, it was obvious that she’d been crying. As she sat down, she saw her phone on the table.
“Alex called, didn’t he?”
“He wanted to know how your exam went,” answered her father. “I talked to him and told him you’d call him back.”
Kevin added, “He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Daddy, Kevin and I need to talk.”
“I agree but you can do it after dinner.”
“Are you going to be around tomorrow?”
“I have to go back to D.C. I was only at Quantico to meet Kevin.”
“I want to talk to you more.”
“Let me go back and check my schedule. Maybe I can meet you at one of the shows. I’d like to meet Alex. If I remember correctly, he’s the rebel of the group.”
“You might say that,” smirked Kevin as Chelsea blushed. “Chels, why don’t you go with your dad to D.C.? You told Alex you wouldn’t be back until Friday.”
“No, I need to see Alex…as soon as possible,” glared Chelsea.
“I’ll give you my numbers so you can call whenever you want.”
The waitress brought their dinners and set them in front of each person. Chelsea had been so excited to be going to Croc’s but now she stared at the food not sure if she could even keep it down. She couldn’t focus on the conversation either that Kevin and her dad were carrying on. She had too much going through her mind. She replayed every second since she’d opened that door to Kevin. Had she missed something? Had Kevin given any hint that he had filed for divorce? And Alex? What was he going to say? Would he know?
Major Whitlock reached over. “Chelsea, are you okay?”
“No sir. I’m going outside to call Alex.”
“Do you want to take your dinner back to the hotel?”
“I guess…or you can take it with you.”
Chelsea grabbed her phone and left the restaurant, Kevin close on her heels.
Outside, he stopped her. “What are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to lie to him.” Pulling out of his grasp, she said, “I want to talk to him privately…please.”
Kevin watched as she moved away and wondered what the future held.
Chelsea took a deep breath as she looked at the phone in her hand. She pressed the number for Alex and waited. “Hey, sexy! Daddy said you called.”
“About an hour ago.” His voice was guarded. “Are you with your dad?”
“We had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. I miss you so much, Alex.”
“How did your exam go?”
“Pretty good, I guess. It was long because it was for all of my classes which I wasn’t expecting. I’m glad I’d been studying all along.”
“So you’re done?”
“And headed back to you tomorrow. I just need to change my ticket.”
There was a long pause before Alex asked, “Chelsea, is Kevin with you?”
“Why do you ask?” She hadn’t missed the way Alex hadn’t said he missed her or the coolness of his voice….or the fear.
“Dianne called this morning. Kevin’s filed for divorce and none of us can get him to answer his phone, including Dianne. I figured since he was going to talk to your dad to fix things and you’re with your dad that maybe he was there too…or you’d at least talked to him.” Alex was quiet for a minute, and then said, “Kevin is still in love with you whether you want to admit it or not and now he’s leaving Dianne. If he’s there, just tell me.”
Chelsea didn’t want to lie to Alex. He deserved to know. Feeling Kevin’s arms around her waist, she closed her eyes and leaned against his chest. “Yes, Kevin is here with Daddy and me but I swear, Alex, I had NO clue he’d filed for divorce.” She took a deep breath. “Alex, Kevin fixed the problems with my dad and I’m excited. I don’t want to get into Kevin’s feelings for me on the phone or his filing for a divorce.”
“I’m happy for you too but I have to know….is there still an ‘us’?”
Chelsea’s tears began to fall knowing that Alex was hurting. “Of course there’s still an ‘us’.”
Knowing Chelsea needed to be distracted, Kevin whispered, “Ask about Annie.”
“Alex, is Annie there?”
“She’s with Brian and Howie.” Alex had heard Kevin and his anger began to boil. “Damnit, Chelsea! You’re pregnant with MY baby now!”
This was getting harder by the second. Chelsea didn’t want to do any of this over the phone. She had to get back to him as quickly as possible but she also needed to figure out what it was with Kevin. Was it good-bye?
“Alex, please, I can’t do this on the phone. I’ll be back tomorrow…before sound checks if I can possibly manage it,” she promised tearfully.
Kevin knew from Chelsea’s tears that Alex was angry. Stepping away, he pulled out his cell phone and made his own call. He would get Chelsea back to Alex that night so they could work things out one way or another.
Alex replied, “Don’t come back if it’s to break up. I’m not playing second to Kevin for the rest of my life.”
“You’ve NEVER been second to him…even when Kevin and I were dating. I love you, Alex,” she insisted.
A long, painful moment passed. “I love you too, Chelsea and I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chelsea cut her phone off and looked around. Kevin was on his phone and her dad was waiting patiently near the car. She motioned to Kevin that she would be with her father.
Putting her arms around him, Chelsea put her head on her father’s shoulder. “I have missed you so much, Daddy.”
“I’ve missed you too, baby girl. I can’t tell you how proud of you. You have done so much on your own. I wish I could help you now but you’re clearly strong enough to take care of your own life.”
“I would never tell you I didn’t need you.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go through all of this.”
“Me too!” she mumbled.
“Do you know what you’re going to do?”
“I think so. I just need to talk to Kevin.”
“Chels, have you two slept together recently?”
Chelsea blushed, “Last night. I was upset and he was….there. I don’t regret it though.”
“Why were you upset?”
“It’s too much to get into right now.”
“Will there be a wedding?”
“I hope so. I’ll call you after I straighten this whole mess out.”
Major Whitlock pulled out a card and handed it to Chelsea. “Here are my numbers. I’m living at the barracks in D.C. now since your mother kicked me out.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. Maybe….”
“It wasn’t your fault, baby. You were just the final straw.” Hugging her tight, he asked, “How are you going to get back to the hotel if I don’t take you?”
Kevin had joined them and said, “I’ll get us a cab. Chels, I have a flight back tonight that leaves at midnight.”
Extending his hand, Major Whitlock said, “Kevin, it was a real treat to meet the ‘punk’ who had the nerve to stand up to me. Not many of Chelsea’s boyfriends had the much nerve. You would have made a good marine.”
Kevin laughed, “Actually, I did consider the Air Force. I wanted to be a pilot. Thank you for listening to me. Chelsea means a lot to me and this was something I had to do. I certainly hope we’ll get to talk more in the future.”
“I think that will depend on my daughter.”
“Kevin will always be a part of my life, Daddy. He’s Annie’s father and I’m not going to cut him out of her life again.”
“She looks so much like you at that age,” smiled Major Whitlock. “I look forward to seeing her.” Taking his daughter in his arms to hug her again, he said, “I promise to make it up to you."
